- Rob Whittaker reveals his bottom row of teeth has been pushed inward
- Aussie says he’s had problems with those teeth since he was a kid
- Says he now has a reason to finally get them fixed properly
Australia’s former UFC middleweight champion Rob Whittaker has revealed that the horrific injury he suffered at the hands of undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 was partly the result of a physical weakness he had been hiding for some time.
Whittaker’s prospects of securing another world title fell on Sunday morning (AEDT) in Abu Dhabi after tapping out at 3:34 in the opening round.
The 33-year-old Australian landed a few leg kicks but didn’t get a chance to land a punch as he was knocked down after just 15 seconds.
He scrambled hard along the cage in an attempt to escape the clutches of the UAE-based Russian fighter, but suffered a gruesome injury to his mouth during a vicious facial swing.
“Holy cow. I think he messed up his jaw,” Daniel Cormier said in a commentary.
“It’s amazing that he did that for Rob Whittaker. Holy smokes.’
Cormier later shared a photo of Whittaker’s injury, which showed some of his lower teeth pushed back into his mouth.
Whittaker has since clarified exactly what happened, explaining that he has always had a problem with those specific teeth.
Robert Whittaker suffered a devastating first-round submission loss to undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev
Whittaker revealed that his teeth were pushed in during the face crank
“It wasn’t the jaw, it was the teeth,” he told Red Corner MMA.
‘The teeth are stuck in there.
‘I’ve always had loose teeth, they kept getting looser.
“It was the face crank. His forearm went straight to the bottom tooth. I didn’t even have a moment to turn my head or anything. It was on. It is what it is.
“I just got into a bad position and the rest is history. The bottom teeth are my Achilles heel.
‘I let them penetrate before, when I fought Dricus [Du Plessis] and they never really recovered.”
Whittaker also released a statement about his health via Instagram.
‘Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig at times, but that’s the business,” he wrote.
Chimaev is only the third person to defeat Whittaker at middleweight
“Hearty congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all. I felt great, everything was right and I was ready. My jaw is fine, but my teeth are recessed. A good excuse to fix them properly now haha.
‘I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge, so this is no different. I would like to thank my team and everyone who supported me to get here. Time to spend some time with the family. Come back soon.’
Chimaev said he knew something was wrong with the Australian’s jaw.
“I felt something was wrong, a click,” Chimaev said afterwards.
‘Thanks Rob. I love you, my brother – you are a legend, I respect that you took the fight to me because no one wants to fight me.”
Noted grappler Chimaev, 30, started the fight as favorite despite being ranked 13th, 10 places below the Sydneysider.
They were originally scheduled to fight in June, but Chimaev pulled out after falling ill
He improved his record to 14-0.
It was only Whittaker’s fourth loss in his last 19 fights over a decade, but it casts doubt on whether he will ever get another chance to fight for UFC gold.